How to travel Turkey on a budget – ultimate guide

Packed with history, ancient monuments and magic natural wonders this beautiful country connects Asia and Europe.

Why Go to Turkey?

Being on the edge of the Islamic world and the European Union, it is a very easy and touristic way to experience Islamic culture and architecture. It really is a unique country with some of the most spectacular and different landscapes I have experienced around the world.

Is Turkey Dangerous?

Turkey has been the victim of a number of high-profile terror attacks and political events in the recent past. The situation is now calmer (late 2017), but there is currently still a state of emergency in place. If going to Turkey, please check current FCO travel advice before organizing your trip.

Must Do

The ferry chimneys in the rock valley of Cappadocia is a photographer’s dream. This surreal, lunar landscape is difficult to explain, you have to see it yourself!

The pure white travertine terraces of Pamukkale’s “Cotton Castle” are a highlight of Turkey.

Ephesus is Europe’s most complete classical metropolis, this well preserved large archaeological site includes the massive Theater, the Temple of Hadrian and the magnificent Celsus Library.

Istanbul is the only city in the world spanning two continents. Impressive architecture and historic sites including the Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque and Topkapi Palace.

Go to the beach! with coastlines along the Aegean and Mediterranean seas Turkey has plenty of amazing beaches not to miss.

Cappadocia with it’s its unique cone-shaped rock formations also called fairy chimneys.

Turkey budget travel -How much will it cost?

Currency Turkish Lira (TRY) R4 – TRY1

You can get by as a backpacker on TRY90 ($24) per day and double that for a comfortable holiday style travel.

Hostel dorm rooms start at TRY25 ($6.50) per night. Private double rooms start around TRY 90($24) per night. You can get private rooms on AirBnB starting at TRY 75 ($20).

Turkey tour packages

There are so many amazing sites not to miss in Turkey, I know getting around can be a mission, don’t feel like planning everything yourself? Let reputable company take care of the hassles. G-Adventures have some excellent tour packages including all our favorites for really good deals!

This G-adventures comprehensive tour of Turkey combines history and beaches, man-made wonders and natural phenomena, as well as a vibrant and welcoming culture. Experience all our favorites; Istanbul, Cappadocia, Pamukkale en Efesus on this 15 day tour for less than $1300

Limited on time? Best of Turkey, 8 day Istanbul to Istanbul. This trip is ideal for the traveller who is short on time but wants to experience as much of Turkey’s stunning scenery and fascinating history as possible. Begin the journey at the WWI battlefield of Gallipoli, then leap into Greek myths and explore the remains of the legendary city of Troy before strolling along the streets of Ephesus. Don’t miss the remarkable white cliff pools of Pamukkale before boarding a comfortable and convenient flight back to Istanbul. Return refreshed and ready to explore the city’s bazaars, mosques, and tea houses.

Best time to visit Turkey

tourist high season is from June through August, everything is crowdy and more expensive.

Summer is hot and winter cold

Spring season (April to May) and autumn season (September to October) are the best times to visit.

Insurance or traveling to Turkey

World Nomads gives you a quote and gets you covered in minutes where ever you are. Check it out and get a quote! World Nomads Insurance

Best of Turkey

Cappadocia

Turkey has many amazing, distinct landscapes, but the arid valleys of Cappadocia with its unique cone-shaped rock formations or “fairy chimneys”, located in central Turkey, are my favorite! The open air museums, large rock cones and underground cities can keep you busy for days exploring this fascinating area.

Huge phallic formations in ‘The Love Valley’ of Cappadocia were formed by natural erosion of volcanic rock.

What is Cappadocia?

How were these unusual rock formations created? Centuries ago a group of ancient volcanoes, erupted layers of ash and sand, mixed with hot gases to cover the countryside in a thick layer of tuff. Over the centuries the rivers, wind and rain eroded the soft rock layer to form spectacular gorges and leave behind the spectacular Cappadocian moonscape.

Things to see in Cappadocia

There are so many fascinating things to see in Cappadocia that you could spend weeks here discovering new places. The main ‘must-see’ attractions are the two open-air museums and the underground cities. Don’t miss Goreme Open Air Museum with it’s cave churches and Zelve Open Air Museum a cave town with churches. The underground cities are another must see. Kaymakli Underground City, the largest underground city and Derinkuyu Underground City the deepest underground city are spectacular. We really enjoyed this, it was a fantastic tour!

Cappadocia is known around the world as one of the best places to fly with hot air balloons. This Cappadocia hot air balloon flight is definitely a bucket list adventure! The spectacular surrealistic landscapes combined with excellent flying conditions allow hundreds of balloons to take off every morning!

Hot air balloons floating over the spectacular landscapes of Cappadocia at sunrise.

Accommodation in Cappadocia

Looking for unreal accommodation? Osmanbey Cave House located at a restored mansion in Goreme National Park, beautiful rooms, awesome location, super friendly staff, a terrace and a garden, good breakfast. Rooms under $50 per night.

Ali’s guesthouse very nice is a social place, the rooms are in a cave house which is kind of awesome but dark inside the dorm. Ali’s Guest House is located in Göreme, just 3.2 km from Capadokya. 9$ for a dormitory bed or $31 for a double room breakfast and all day coffee and tea included.

We enjoyed staying at Kose Pension a nice family run hostel with a great swimming pool, super friendly staff, awesome location and a good breakfast. Double room was $24.

Pamukkale

Pamukkale is a town in western Turkey known for the mineral-rich thermal waters flowing down white travertines (terraces) on a nearby hillside. The gleaming white calcite terraces look like snowy slopes on photos and the warm mineral rich waters form gleaming blue pools that you can swim in. Pamukkale means cotton castle in Turkish and the name is self explanatory if you look at photos. The terraces neighbors Hierapolis, an ancient Roman spa city founded around 190 B.C. Ruins there include a well-preserved theater and a necropolis with sarcophagi that stretch for 2km.

Still alone at Pamukkale, early in the morning before flocks of tourists arrive in tour buses.

TIP This Unesco World Heritage site gets thousands of daily visitors arriving in tour buses. The gates open at 6am. We arrived when the gates opened and had this entire amazing site to ourselves for over 2 hours, when hundreds of tourist buses started arriving. Here you can book a tour to Pamukkale with a guide that picks you up at your hotel. If you plan to explore this site independent my advice would be to arrive early and walk around as much of the site as you can for the first 2 hours taking beautiful photos in the soft light with few tourist, then go and enjoy swimming in the pools when the masses arrive.

Accommodation in Pamukkale

We stayed in Hotel Dort Mevsim, nice budget hotel with dormitories and private rooms, breakfast buffet included, swimming pool, walking distance from the travertines, good deal at $16 for a double room. Venus Suite Hotel – Neat, new hotel with big rooms, plenty of facilities, excellent food, free shuttle to the travertines, great breakfast. Good deal for about $30

The snow white travertines of Pamukkale

Ephesus

Ephesus was an ancient Greek city on the coast of Ionia. Today what remains of the best-preserved Roman city in the Mediterranean region is close to the city Selçuk in İzmir Province.

The spectacular city was built in the 10th century BC during the Classical Greek era and began to flourish after it came under the control of the Roman Republic in 129 BC.

The Library of Celsus is one of the most well restored ruins in Turkey.

Some of the highlights of this city:

Temple of Artemis – once the biggest temple on Earth and one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

Library of Celsus – one of the most impressive buildings in the Roman Empire this library stored over 12,000 scrolls, destroyed by an earth quake and set on fire by the goths

Odeion (used for music performances)

Temple of Hadrian,-Varius Baths, State Agora, Temple of Domitian, Hercules Gate and many more

Tip Stay late! At 18:00 the last tour guides started leading out their flocks of tourists and we had the whole ancient city to ourselves, the light was soft and perfect for photos. Walking alone in that ancient city really felt like you were part of the Roman world.

To walk around alone in the spectacular Ephesus the secret is to stay late.

Accommodation close to Ephesus

Amazon Petite is located in Selcuk, close to to Basilica of St John and the Temple of Artemis. It offers air-conditioned rooms with a minibar, flat-screen TV and free Wi-Fi, nice breakfast and friendly helpful staff. Good deal at about $40 for a double room.

Ephesus Palace, good value for money, friendly host, car and bicycle hire available, located 3 km from Great Theatre of Ephesus. Rooms from about $20, economy triples and family rooms available.

Istanbul

Split between east and west this ancient, culturally rich city has a crazy amount to see and do. Many travelers never get further than Istanbul when visiting Turkey, with such a huge variety of highlights I can understand why. After about 10 days in Istanbul we only scratched the surface of what one of the world’s great cities has to offer. The best of Istanbul can not be listed in this short space, but I will just mention a couple of our favorite things to do in Istanbul.

Hagia Sofia

Turkey’s most famous domed monument went from church to mosque to museum. It is filled with Christian and Muslim artifacts. Over the years under various rulers it served as temple or mosque until it was converted to a museum. You can not miss this spectacular building that is said to have changed the history of architecture. One site not to miss! Buy tickets for Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia here! get picked up by a driver, skip the long lines do a morning tour with a local guide.

Hagia Sophia, Istanbul

The Blue Mosque (The Sultan Ahmed Mosque)

Another iconic mosque in Istanbul, located close to Hagia Sofia. The Blue Mosque is not blue, it’s name is derived from the famous blue tiled roof inside the building. The mosque is still used for worship, but tourists are welcome.

The Basilica Cistern

This was my favorite site in Istanbul. The Basilica was a huge underground water storage facility that was fed by aquaducts to the Black Sea 20 km away. It is made spectacular by 336 stone columns and two enormous stone Medusa heads.

The impressive Basilica Cistern.

The Bosphorus Strait

The Bosphorus Strait (Istanbul Bogazi) is the dividing line between Europe and Asia and connects the Black Sea with the Sea of Marmara. Most sights are concentrated in the old city on the peninsula of Sultanahmet, It is awesome standing on the Bosphorus bridge with Europe on the one side and Asia the other, when we were in Istanbul there was a swimming race across the Bophorus from Europe to Asia. Reserve your seat on to see both the European and Asian sides of Istanbul on a 2.5-hour boat cruise of the Bosphorus Strait.

The Topkapi Palace

The Topkapı Palace is a large museum in Istanbul, Turkey. This massive palace was the Imperial residence of Ottoman sultans for about 400 years. Much of the palace is not accessible, the tours of the Sultan’s Harem was interesting.

Istanbul Whirling Devishes

Looking for some evening entertainment you are only going to see in Istanbul? Don’t miss the famous Mevlevei Sema ceremony in Istanbul. Known for its whirling dervishes and dances, enjoy a complex musical repertoire called ayin and go on a mystical journey representing man’s spiritual ascent through mind and love to perfection.

The Grand Bazaar

The colorful and chaotic Grand Bazaar has been at the center of Istanbul for centuries. The Grand Bazaar is one of the largest and oldest covered markets in the world. The Bazaar covers 61 streets and it has up to 400,000 visitors daily! Something not to miss if you visit Istanbul.

Buying some Turkish delicacies at The Grand Bazaar, Instanbul.

How to explore Istanbul

If you are on a budget the cheapest is to use Google Maps and explore the city on foot.

For a little bit more taking a hop on hop of bus tour is a great option. You can get around a your own pace and see all the famous landmarks, from the Hagia Sophia and Blue Mosque to the splendors of the Ottoman Empire, including Dolmabahçe Palace.

Accommodation in Istanbul

Where you stay will depend mainly on what you wish to get out of Istanbul.

Sultanahmet is historic, beautiful, very atmospheric, very touristy and quiets down around midnight.

Hotel Sphendon offers easy access to many local attractions, located in the heart of historical Old City of Istanbul, 300 m from the Blue Mosque, walking distance to most main attractions. Friendly staff assist with arranging car hire, daily city tours, tickets and activities in the city. wi fi, air con, good buffet breakfast. Double Room about $60

Taksim is the more modern area of the city, with a mix of tourists and locals, many of good restaurants/clubs/bars, alive until morning. This is the more expensive area.

Georges Hotel Galata, ultra comfort remodelled old building, real luxury – even espresso machine in some of the rooms, marble bathrooms, spectacular views over the Bosphorus. Luxury in moder day Istanbul about $110

World House Hostel, awesome hostel, cool location in Taksim, 24 desk, good breakfast, $8 for a dormitory bed

Go to the beach – Alanya

We spent a couple of days in the Mediterranean seaside town Alanya on the southern coast of Turkey. Bordered by the beautiful Taurus Mountains, the city is located on a peninsula with an 13thcentury castle overlooking stunning beaches.

The medieval Alanya castle overlooking the sea is a must visit.

Go to the beautiful waterfalls and river of Sapadere.

We spent days swimming in the crystal clear water in one of the small beaches close to the dock yard.

Rent a paddle board and paddle around the flat ocean or go paragliding or scuba diving.

Our favorite sm.all beach in Alanya

Or looking for adventure?

Hike the Lycian Way, a 540 km hike along footpath in Turkey around part of the coast of ancient Lycia.

Go and dive at Kas, one of Turkey’s top dive sites. The area has caves, reefs, wrecks and nice marine life.

Turkey off the beaten track

Explore the remote Taurus Mountain range located in the Mediterranean region of Turkey. This rugged limestone area of cascading waterfalls and underground rivers and has some of the largest caves in Asia.

Transport

Busses – the easiest way for long distance travel in Turkey is by bus, the bus system in Turkey is amazing, bus stations are big and look like airports, the buses are fancy with personal LCD screens showing movies on the back of every seat like an airplane, the only negative here is that all movies are translated into Turkish. Snacks and drinks get served on the bus. Long distance bus tickets cost between $30 and $60 depending on distance. Check Bus Prices

TIP – we often took overnight buses saving on a night’s accommodation.

Uber or BiTaksi – Uber works, there are rumours that it is illegal. BiTaksi is a good app for getting taxis for about the same price as Uber.

Hitchhiking– It was not too difficult to get rides, some drivers expect money and we had one dispute after a ride for which we did not ask a price at the start, so make sure about money when a car stops. I would not recommend for girls to hitchhike alone and definitely cover up arms, legs and hair, you will just feel more comfortable with less staring.

Turkish Food

I really enjoyed the Turkish food, a mix of Asian and European cuisine. I loved Turkish coffee, read all about us drinking coffee around the world! Got a sweet tooth? don’t miss this awesome article on amazing desserts to try in Turkey! Eating or drinking in restaurants was expensive, but buying food (and coffee) at supermarkets was cheap, so if you are on a backpacker budget find a hostel with a kitchen. You can buy kebabs with lamb or chicken everywhere and quality differs a lot depending on where you buy, but the real thing is amazing. We ate at cafeteria style places often around Istanbul, food was great, soup and a meal that usually consists of fried vegetables such as eggplant (aubergine) and peppers or potatoes served with yogurt and tomato sauce.

Turkish breakfast is very typical and is usually made up of bread, butter, olives, eggs, tomatoes, cucumbers, jam, honey and cheese. At hostels you usually get a mix of this and it is served as a buffet. Even McDonald’s serves a Turkish breakfast with egg, tomato, bread and olives!

Turkey Packing list

Here are a couple of items that we found particularly handy during our Turkey trip.

The Pashima for the ladies is so useful! Head covering for mosques is important to have. Very chic in the evenings and useful on the plane as a blanket or pillow! Reversible Paisley Pashmina Shawl Wrap

A good umbrella is amazing to have when you get caught by an unexpected rainstorm! Good quality windproof, waterproof, easy to operate and light to pack in your day pack.

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29 Comments

Did you guys do any hiking or camping in Turkey? Any suggestions? We’re considering a trip (4 people including 1 child – a fairly adventurous 10 year old), and wanted to do an unconventional type of trip. We don’t mind roughing it and generally travel with our tent. We prefer to be in nature than in cities, but of course in Turkey, the cities have their own charm I think.

Great info! Me and my husband are also planning to go by February this coming year, but confused which place we should visit first, we will stay 1st in Istanbul. And would like to visit only those place you visited. Any suggestions please?

Hi Jennifer, glad you found our post helpful. You basically have 2 options either Istanbul, Cappadocia, Pamukkale, Ephesus back to Istanbul-look at a map of Turkey, Cappadocia is the furthest destination from Istanbul so this way after your initial flight or long bus ride you travel back towards Istanbul, your other option is to do the circuit the other way around Istanbul, Ephesus, Pamukkale, Cappadocia and then take a flight or long bus ride back to Istanbul. Safe travels

Hi Team we are planning trip next week from India..
Our trip is like this –
1st day – Reach Istanbul at 2:30 pm, stay in taksim square
2nd day- travel to Nav(cappadocia) by flight n reach around 6pm,
3rd day – cappadocia
4th day- full day in cappadocia and Take bus to Antalya at night
5th day- reach 8am to Antalya
6th day – Antalya
7th day – travel to kas and come back
8th day – flight to Istanbul – sultanhmet area
9th day – Istanbul
10th day – flight in afternoon to India

Really confused about Antalya… because I wanted to cover some beautiful cafe which are around kas, butterfly valley n other things, also I am not covering pamakulle as I don’t have time. Pls advice about my trip. Need urgent help
4th morning

Hello Neha,we have not been to Antalya or Kas (I just mention you can dive in Kas). Our highlights Pamukale, Ephesus, Cappadocia and Istanbul. I know there is a lot to see in Turkey, unfortunately difficult decisions if your time is limited. Currently traveling so my resources bit limited, goodluck and safe travels

Hey!
Thank you for the information you posted about Turkey. I visited Turkey over 6 years ago but only stayed for a day and half. I want to go there again with my husband but we are going to be on a tight budget for it . My question is that how did you book your hotels? What website did you use and how far in advance can we book them? Just needing to know a little but on booking hotels because we are used to the US way and didnt know if it was any different for Turkey.
Thanks in advance and keep exploring !

Hello Safa, thank you for reading. We book through booking.com. We never book long ahead, because we don’t plan long ahead. You can however book ahead if you want to be sure you are going to get the booking, most places can be canceled without any cost. We give links in the article to places for different budgets that we recommend, you can just click on the links and make the booking straight from there. Safe travels

Hello Waheed, thank you for reading. All prices according to our experience and links to packages we recommend can be found in this blog post. Everyone travels different and you can calculate your predicted cost by using these prices. You are welcome and safe travels!

hi, this was a very informative article. thank you so much for all the tips and information. i am planning to visit turkey this november for 2 weeks and i was thinking of covering istanbul for 3-4 days, cappadocia for 2-3, pamukkale / ephesus for 2 days, antalya for 3.
so my questions are: how is it traveling in the month of november? is it too cold?
i have been reading about the hot air balloon and honestly really confused about the price, some places they show around 125 euros while some have shown as low as 70-75. any idea?
i like to go with flow when it comes to places, would it be advisable to book the hostels once i get there as i infer november isnt a high season?
do you recommend internal flights for travels or buses are best?
and ofcourse i would love to know your take on my itinerary if i should make any changes, add or remove places. i am very keen on doing istanbul, cappadocia and antalya. thank you

Hello Ogieshim, thanks for reading, I would recommend going to Pamukkale early in the morning before the masses of tourists arrive, half a day should be sufficient. Traveling from Paumukkale to Cappadocia takes about 13 hours by bus or train see https://www.rome2rio.com/map/Pamukkale/Cappadocia-Turkey We traveled by night bus, the bus service in Turkey was good. Safe Travels!

Hey…Your guide is awesome and so helpful…Just wondering as unless I missed it on your guide and going blind, how long did you spend in Turkey on your itinerary please?…I have a month off in June off and considering Turkey as an option. I have time but in general I am a fast backpacker and move on quickly and will doing over night buses as usually do to save costs and time…So what time frame would you suggest? (“,)

Oh…And also I try to avoid tours in general, just love exploring myself and enjoy the moment then be bound by time, so often that does mean although I move fast, getting to some of the places without a tour often takes longer LOL…So a rough time frame for Turkey from your experience would be appreciated…

Hello Neeta, we spent a month in Turkey. The following should be ok – Effesus and Pamukkale a day each, Cappadocia 2 days, Istanbul 3 or 4 days, Alanya a day or 2 and then travel time. You can take night buses to save on travel time, if you add 3 days travel time then you have more or less 2 weeks for this trip. Safe travels!

How many days should we plan for a trip following your route of Istanbul, Ephesus, Pamukkale, Alanya, Cappadocia and then return to Istanbul? I am retired and can take my time, but my daughter and another friend who will take time off of work, want to do it all in a week. Is this possible?

Hello Deborah, thanks for reading!If you are limited on time I would skip Alanya spend one day in Pamukkale, one day in Ephesus, one day in Cappadocia and two days in Istanbul. You will have to take buses at night. Booking tours is also a great time saving possibility, it is more pricey but you are not going to waste time on figuring out transport, looking for accommodation etc. Doing things yourself is always cheaper, but takes more time. My advice would be either book a tour or plan very well. goodluck and safe travels!

Hello Mepemba, like I said in the article, traveling backpacker style, staying in dormitory beds and cooking for ourselves it cost us $24 per person per day, for comfortable holiday travel it can be done for about double so $50 each per day, but you will still have to watch your budget.

and how much long in advance should i book hotels in istanbul, cappadocia and pamukkele for a trip in june?(if i am on a budget) and is it still possible to get decent accomodation (at a reasonable price)if you book late?

this is a very informative article I must say! But is it a budget guide for a family of three? Beacause i really want to visit istanbul, cappadocia and pamukkele at a very affordable price plus i need decent accomodation with clean rooms and do you have any idea how can i estimate the cost for the entire trip like without any tourist guide for the enitre trip?

Hello Mepemba, thanks for reading. We give budget tips for traveling Turkey, you can apply these to three people. You want to go in high season so I would suggest booking asap. We recommend accommodation and activities in the article, you can click on the links, read about the accommodation and activities, look at photos and read reviews written by other travelers. You can book from here. good luck, safe travels

Hello Zen, thanks for reading I will include a map in the article when I have a chance, but would recommend if you arrive in Istanbul you follow this route, Istanbul, Ephesus, Pamukkale, Alanya, Cappadocia, Istanbul. Safe travels!

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Hello! We’re Campbell and Alya, the creators of Stingy Nomads, water lovers and hiking addicts, traveling the world to bring you tips and tricks to experience some of the most thrilling adventures on the planet! We experienced everything on this blog and wrote every word. Get advice from a source you can trust. Want to know more ABOUT US ?

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